Twiga

Hello! My name is Twiga, and I am a giraffe. We are the tallest animals in the world and can be seen roaming in herds in Africa.

Giraffe Facts

Giraffes like me are a great example of the careful and wise design of the Creator. You see, somehow we have to get blood all the way up our very long necks, to our brain. God has equipped us with an extra big and strong heart to do that. But that’s not enough. An extra big heart means extra blood pressure—which we need—but what happens when we bend over to take a drink? It could kill us because of all that blood pressure! But it doesn’t, because we were carefully designed by the Creator. Instead, a special system of one-way valves in the neck keep the blood from flowing back to the brain when our neck is lowered, and a spongy tissue in the brain, called a “wonder net,” catches the blood as our heads go forward. These design features protect our brains and allow us to drink! God was certainly wise when He designed us.

Here are some cool facts about giraffes:

  • Not only are we the tallest animals, we also have the longest tails of any mammal—up to 4 feet (1.2m) long, including the tail tuft!
  • Just like you all have different fingerprints, each giraffe has a different pattern of spots.
  • We can use our blue tongues to reach an extra 20 inches (51 cm).
  • We don’t have very many natural predators, but sometimes lions will try to attack baby giraffes. That’s not a good idea because an angry momma can kick the head off a lion with her powerful hind kick.
  • We are usually pretty quiet animals, but we can make a wide variety of noises such as mooing, bleating, bellowing, snoring, whistling, grunting, and coughing.

Class: Mammalia (mammal)
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Giraffadae
Genus/Species: Giraffa camelopardarlis
Size: 18 feet (5.5 m) tall; 5 ft (150 cm) long
Weight: 1,765 to 4,200 pounds (801–1,905 kg)
Diet: Leaves and buds
Habitat: Savannahs of Africa

Character Trait

Because I have such a long neck, I need an extra big heart to pump blood all the way up to my head—my heart weighs 25 lbs (11 kg)! My heart should remind you to “take this to heart.” We need to make sure our hearts love God.

When God created everything in the beginning, there was no sin or death. But the first people, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God’s one command to them, and the punishment for sin is death. Their actions brought sin and death into the world. That’s why we have sin in our hearts today. But Jesus, God’s Son, came to earth, lived a life without sin, and died on the Cross, taking our place and our punishment, death, upon Himself. If we ask Jesus to forgive us and if we trust in Him, He will get rid of all the sin in our hearts and we will receive eternal life in heaven with Him! We need to make sure that our hearts love and trust Jesus. Be wise—have a heart that trusts in the Lord!

Verse

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

Learn More

You can learn more about giraffes like me at the links below: